Did You File Your Taxes Today? Lots of Utahns Filed for Extensions

If you waited until the last minute to do your taxes, don’t worry: you’re not alone.

Bill Brunson, spokesman for the IRS, told Jessica Gail that 92,500 Utahns were expected to request an extension to file their 2012 tax return and that those people should know that:

“If you have a balance due, if you know you owe Uncle Sam money and you request the extension to file you will only have the late payment penalty which is one half of one percent. You won’t incur the late filing penalty which is five percent on the taxes due.”

For those filing an extension and expecting to get money back from the government, there aren’t any penalties.

Charlie Roberts, spokesman for the Tax Commission here in Utah says residents may have noticed a couple changes as they were prepping for tax day.

“This is the first year the State Tax Commission did not send out the published booklets to the people who previously filed by mail.”

By doing so the state saved $88,000 and put Utah more in line with the IRS which stopped publishing the booklets last year.

Bill Brunson says every tax return that is filed online saves the federal government more than $3.00, and they’re far more accurate than returns sent in by mail:

“Paper returns have an error rate of about 13 - 15%. Your electronically filed return has an error rate is almost none, half a percent or smaller.”

It’s estimated that 78% of Americans will file their 2012 taxes online.